Tuesday, December 29, 2009

Gourmet Chef (Christmas Crafting Reveal, Day 3)

I never formally learned how to sew beyond a sweatshirt I made in 7th grade home-ec. I remember wearing the finished product, so it must have turned out with at least the correct number of arms and a neck-opening, but I haven't sewed much of anything since, and certainly nothing with formal help.

Still, I have an old sewing machine from my grandmother and I've always really loved the *idea* of sewing. I just don't know what I'm doing beyond threading the needle. I wing it. Sometimes this works well, and sometimes I bury the result in the backyard while no one is watching.

One of T's favorite activities is playing with his kitchen, so I really wanted him to have an apron of his own. I made a pattern by having him hold a piece of newspaper under his chin while I drew the rough outline of a T-sized apron on it. He didn't ask why he was holding newspaper under his chin, so no surprises were ruined.

I cut it out, traced it onto fabric, and sewed all the edges over. I added a pocket across the bottom and sewed on some straps. If you inspect the wonky lines of stitches, you wouldn't award me any prizes, but T gives it a stamp of approval. Once he gets it on, he doesn't want to take it off.

The other kitchen-related item I made was noodles to put in a mini colander that I just wanted an excuse to buy. This was the easiest thing in the whole world to make: Hold felt in left hand, cut in strips with right. The end. Now we've been eating lots of spaghetti around here lately.